Match safe



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. W. HART.

(No Model.)

MATCH SAFE.

Patented July 2 Wiigzsses 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. W. HART.

MATCH SAFE.

(No Model.)

Patented July 2 Hdiigdsses UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN l/VILEY HART, OF PITTSBURG, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO J. F. LEWIS, OF

SAME PLACE. 1i

MATCH-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION-forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,853, dated July 2, 1895.

Application filed May 11, 1894- .To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN WILEY HART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Crawford and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful MatchSafe, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to matchsafes, and particularly to that class from which the IO matches must be withdrawn singly or one at a time,jeach match being ignited as it is extracted; and the objects of the invention are to simplify the construction and operation of devices of this class; increase their efficiency I 5 by providing improved means for igniting the matches and provide for the adjustment and replacement of the parts as they become worn or injured.

Further objects and advantages of the in- 2o vention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a match-safe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the 1ine,33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section similar to that in Fig. 2, with the carriage shown 0 in its depressed position. 'Fig. 5 is a detail view of the upper portion of the match-carriage. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the device to show the disposition of the parts when the carriage is at the limit of its upward move- 3 5 ment, the cover being turned back.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the draw: lugs.

1 designates the casing of the improved 4o match-safe, secured to the base 2 by means of lateral flanges 3, formed on the lower edges of the sides of the casing fitting in ways or guides at on the upper side of the base. Slidably mounted in the casing, in guides 5 formed 5 upon the inner surfaces of the sides thereof, is a match-carriage 6, adapted when released to rise until its upper end projects through a slot 7 in the top of the casing, as shown in Fig. 2. This slot is normally covered by a hinged cap 8 provided with a glass upper side 9, said cap being held in its closed position by Serial No. 510,918. (No model.)

means of a small spring catch 10. The carriage is moved upward,and normally held in its elevated position, by means of an elastic band 11,which in the construction illustrated 5 5 is provided at its terminals with clips 12 engaging keepers 13 within the casing. It will be understood that when necessary this band may be replaced by attaching the clips to the terminals thereof.

A handle His provided to enable the operator to depress the carriage, said handle being arranged to operate in a vertical slot 15 in theside of the casiug,and arranged adjacent to this slot, in position to engage said handle, is a spring catch 16 having a shoulder 17, whereby when the carriage is depressed sufficiently to carry the handle 1 c below said shoulder it is engaged and held in its depressed position. A spring plate 18 is arranged withiuthe casing with its free end in contact with the freeend of the spring catch 16, and fitted in the front side of the casing is a push-button 19 provided with a stem 20 terminating at its rear end in a knob to bear against said spring plate. The front side of the casing preferably consists of a door 2i held in its closed position by means'ot' a latch or fastening device 22.

The match-carriage is provided in its upper end with a groove or seat 23 for the reception of a match, and extendingover the upper end of the carriage is an elastic holding band 24 secured at its ends within the casing by means of clips 25 engaging keepers 26, simi- 8 lar to the actuating band above described, said holding band being arranged transversely to the length of the groove or seat in the upper end of the carriage and being stretched across the path of the carriage, whereby as the carriage ascends after having been depressed the match which is arranged in the groove or seat is pressed against the holding band and is thereby held against displacement. This holding band remains in engage- 5 ment with the match afterthe upper end of the carriage has risen above the upper end of the casing and the match has been carried into the interior of the cap 8, as shown in Fig. 2.

The match-hopper 27 is arranged near the top of the casing, and is provided with downwardlyconvergent sides, the lowest points of which are coincident with their intersection with the path of the carriage, whereby as the carriage is depressed by means of its handle 14 its upper end passes down through the hopper until below the bottom of the same, thus allowingthe matches contained in the hopper to roll inward over the groove or seat in the upper end of the carriage. As the carriage is allowed to rise by reason of its actuating elastic band one of the matches is received in the groove or seat and elevated, and when the upper end of the carriage reaches a point above the uppermost matches in the hopper the carriage is checked by the shouldered spring-catch 16 and held in said position until released by the repression of the push-button. When released the carriage is forced upward rapidly and the head of thematch is brought into contact with a frictionblock 28, of inverted conical shape, which is arranged opposite one end of the slot in the upper end of the casing with its inner side projecting slightly through an opening 29 provided for that purpose. This frictionblock is preferably constructed of wire-gauze or netting, of the said inverted conical shape whereby as the match is carried upward the friction of its head with the surface of the block increases, and said block is provided with a stem 30 fitting in a keeper 31 and a socket 32 upon the side of the casing whereby it may be removed for cleaning when the meshes become filled with accumulations of sulphur, phosphorus, and the like. The conical shape of the block, in addition to producing a continuous and gradually increasing pressure upon the match head, enables itto be turned as it is used to present fresh surfaces for contact. Therefore the match is ignited as it is carried through the slot in the upper end of the casing, and remains burning within the cap from which it may be withdrawn by throwing the cap back and grasping the match at'its center and disengaging it from the holding band or tape. The upper end of the carriage is notched upon opposite sides, as shown at 33, to facilitate the grasping of the match.

The matchhopper is provided with a hinged cover 34, and the back of the casing is formed by a sliding plate 35, fitted at its side edges in grooves 36 in the rear edges of the sides of the casing, and removable after having d etached the casing from the base, by drawing down-ward upon the ring 37. The object of the sliding plate 35 is to give access to the interior of the casing for the purpose of adjusting the parts of the device.

It will be understood that in practice vari ous changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a casing provided with a slot, of a vertically reciprocable, springactuated match carriage provided in its up per end with a match-seat and adapted to project at said upper end through the slot in the casing, a hopper arranged near said slot and provided in its bottom with a slot through which the carriage operates, the walls of the hopper declining toward the slot in the bottom thereof, a friction block arranged between the limits of movement of the seat on the carriage and in the path of the head of a match arranged in said seat, and means for engaging and holding a match in the seat before the head of said match comes in contact with the friction block substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a casing provided with a slot, and a match-hopper arranged adjacent thereto, of a reciprocable spring-actuated match-carriage operating through said hopper and the slot in the casing, and an elastic holding-band arranged in the path of the carriage within the casing, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a casing having a slot and provided with a match-hopper, of a match-carriage reciprocably mounted in the casing to operate through said hopper and pro vided at the end Which operates in the hopper with a match-seat, means for igniting the match arranged in said seat, a contractile band secured at its terminals to the casing upon opposite sides of the plane of the carriage and bearing at an intermediate point against the inner end of the carriage, and means for retracting the carriage against the tension of said band, substantially as specified.

4. The combination with a casing having a slot and provided with a match-hopper, of a match-carriage reciprocably mounted in the casing to operate through said hopper and provided at one end with a match-seat, means for igniting the match arranged in said seat, a contractile band provided with terminal clips engaging keepers in the casing upon opposite sides of the plane of the carriage, and bearing at an intermediate point against the inner end of the carriage, and means for retracting the carriage against the tension of said band, substantially as specified.

5. The combination with a casing havinga slot and provided with a match-hopper, of a reciprocable match-carriage, arranged to operate through said hopper and slot, and provided with a match-seat, means for igniting a match arranged in said seat, means for ad vancing the carriage when released, a spring catch 16 for engaging a projection or handle 14 attached to the carriage and extending through a slot in the casing, to hold the carriago in a retracted position, a push button, and connections between the push-button and said spring catch, substantially as specified.

6. The combination with a'casing having a slot and provided witha match-hopper, of a reciprocable match-carriage arranged to operate through said hopper and slot and provided with a match-seat which is beyond the wall of the casing and therefore outside of the IIO same when the carriage is in its advanced position andis below the bottom and outside of the hopper when the carriage is in its retracted position, means for advancing the carriage when released, a spring catch for engaging and holding the carriage at an intermediate point of its movement, or between the limits thereof, when the match-seat is Within the hopper and above the floor thereof, and means for releasing the carriage from said catch, substantially as specified.

7. The combination with a casing having a slot and provided with a match-hopper, a spring-actuated match-carriage, and means for operating the same, of an inverted conical friction-block having wire-gauze surfaces, and provided with means whereby it is adjustably secured with one side in the path of a match on the carriage, substantially as specified.

and means for operating the same, of an in- 25 verted conical friction-block having roughened surfaces and provided with a stem fitting removably and revolubly in a socket on the side of the casing with one side of the block in said opening in the side of the casing, 0

whereby it is in the path of a match carried by the match-carriage, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in 5 the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WILEY HART.

Witn esses WALTER KENNETT, W. H. ANDERSON. 

